Followers

This week's blog is a bit different that what most of you may be used to...so grab on, and enjoy the ride. There are not cutesier kids, goofy family videos, parenting advice and the like...this one is a bit, well, let's just say this blog SUCKS!

There is no nudity, but I have to warn ya, there are LOTS of hunky men and women...and no, it is far from porn, not for kids viewing, not for the faint of heart...but certainly entertaining. Be prepared to remember the name "Marcus!"

This particular blog belongs to a lifelong friend, one I met when I was 14, she was 17. Inseparable, we would get into SO MUCH TROUBLE.

We were given a nickname. Mind you, not one I would have chosen for us, but, as far as I was concerned, it made me feel special...it was fun..."Starsky & F**ked"....yeah yeah, I was f**ked. Hey, we were teenagers. She was the one who encouraged me to change my life, to follow my dreams. The Arts. I did well throughout the years...and always fondly cherished her wisdom, her faith in my talents, and remembered her for pushing me to succeed...to continue my education...to finish at levels my family had never seen.

I recall all too well, her writings...even 30+ years ago...still vivid. I would beg to read her short stories, her novels...but she was fiercely protective. These were her "babies." No one could read them until they were "ready." Inevitably, I would be the one. The Critic...(HEY, bite me, I may not be one to get my thoughts in type very well, but I CAN read :-) She would reluctantly give me the finished product...I always ended in in tears. Her gift was (is) amazing...we always KNEW she would be published...She HAD to...she was that good.

Well, finally it happened, in this past year...as they say, good things come to those that wait...and wait, and wait...she was published. I could not have been more proud, or happy!

We lost contact for many, many years, finally finding her online...and although we reconnected, and it felt as though we had never been lost to one another, we still haven't been in each others presence in over 25 years now. Amazing eh?

So, for this weeks highlight, I give you one of my dearest, and oldest friendships:

Another exciting Fatherhood Friday! Join me at DAD-BLOGS for some creative columns. debating dads and moms, and even yummy recipies!

As many of you have known for sometime, we are pretty darn silly in our household. We have goofy, gibberish conversations all the time...inventing our own words. (no worries, she has an extremely accurate command of the English Vocabulary).

Bella has her own "Bella Speak" and gives nicknames to all kinds of things: Toys, Clothes, Hats, Body Parts, Shoes, etc....

(to highlight a few - a very few - in her own words):

DeelyBopper Hat(watch the vid to see)

Booty

Yumalicious(this tastes good)

MooMoo(nightgown - no clue where she got that one (WINK).

Gazoomba(when someone sneezes)

Daddy-Doo & PaPa-Poo

And, well, quite a few expressions that she seems to come up with herself. There are so many, but, check out the vid...get an idea of what I am saying here...

Recently, Bella discovered her butt crack in a mirror, and how her cereal bar has a similar, uh, feature....and well, er, um, ahem, check out the video. See exactly where she thinks that food "ends" up!

We are starting a new feature here at BellaDaddy Blog. I was thinking; "wouldn't it be cool to show other people, some of the cool blogs that we follow?" OK Ok so maybe more cool for me than you....but hey, c'mon...deal with it :-) Humour Me. I am starting this today, Friday, but...this is to be a regular Sunday Feature...and will take it's regularly scheduled programming on Sunday Nights. Beginning NEXT Sunday Night...so this post will actually run for a few days longer. But, on Sundays..you got that...right?

Lucky You, eh? HAHAHAHA! (Let me guess, you figured I was gonna feature JASON, again? Hell, he doesn't need anymore "help". He's got it covered, quite well. Heck, who am I to lie, he will be here too...eventually! No one will know when and how they are Blogged About.,,the choice will be at my discretion...so beware...you could be next...(if you don't wanna be featured, please, let me know...I respect all limits...sorry Stacy, you had no choice this time INSERT EVIL LAUGH HERE)!

Our very first blog buddy holds a very special place in our hearts here at BellaDaddy Blog, and in our personal lives. Stacy, Jeff & Aiden. Stacy and I met while working together in a rather unique business for a rather unique man...(that's another story). We hit it off immediately. We stayed close throughout our time there, partying together (before Bella & Aiden of course)...working, supporting, confiding and yeah, we even had our moments...arguing here and there...

Talk about HOT. Stacy was always considered the bombshell in our place of employ...A rocking bod, amazing fashion sense...(always a Coach Purse on her arm...or similar) Wouldn't be surprised if a diaper bag or two had been from Prada! Hell, She coulda been a BEARD if we'd thunk about it...but alas, we never did...we were more like trouble making BFF's than anything.

Long story short, we stayed friends...even after we'd left our employment. She, to move away with her boyfriend, me to have Bella. But, we all think we make major changes in our lives...for betterment, for change, for whatever...well, Stacy made a HUGE one...she got married! Woo Hoo....and then...well...the cutest little boy...Aiden...

These days, we stay in touch, more so, via our Blogs & emails...we live kinda far apart...but we will always be close... When you visit their blog, you will find some recently very exciting news for their family!

So, go read them for yourselves...open up your blog-o'sphere and absorb some new people info...make sure to leave a comment on these blogs, letting them know "Bella Sent Ya

...and don't forget to visit those other hot Dads & moms over at DAD-BLOGS. Where Fatherhood Friday is the Bomb...no BEARD needed!

This morning, I received this from my buddy Jason, over @ OUTNUMBERED:

"Hey guys, Just a pass through but I donated the other day to the Clinton-Bush Haiti fund and asked them if they had banners that bloggers can add to their sites. He sent me a few (attached) and the link below to link up to. I threw a banner up on Out-Numbered. If anyone is interested, in helping out, I figured I'd pass it along. No pressure obviously.

WOW, 2 years! Kinda crazy that we have had this little blog for so long...or rather, it doesn't feel even remotely close to 2 years.

I remember being so excited to start the blog, JANUARY 08 to keep in touch with family and friends. And now, now, it has grown to so much more. As of this posting, we have had over 6000 hits (since Feb 27, 2008 when I started tracking it)...and 64 "followers". Straight, Gay, Single Parents, Nuclear Families, Intended Parents, Adopted, Surrogacy Birth, Legal Guardianship...Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Spiritual, Atheist...all races, creeds and colors. You name it, you are all here. So Cool. So many people that I have never met, probably never will. Yet, here they are...friends...interested in our life, our little one and the erratic ramblings of a sometimes crazed Daddy.

I have shared so much, yet, kept so much back....preferring to share the positive most times...and sometime the frustration...but hell...having a child, watching them grow, educating, playing, forming...it is all so new...yet now, so seemingly regimented...I feel like an old pro! All I ever wanted was to share our life in a blog...to document our littlest ones life a bit...so she can look back later in life, and kick me LOL...(Don't forget to backup your blogs!).

Most of my posts have been mundane, with a few exciting, emotional bits...here and there...but mainly, people have been so very positive and refreshing...and helpful ...in their comments. There have been a few, that I have not posted (you now who you are)...and a few followers I have blocked...actually, only 3...but I felt they had no reason to follow a blog like this...eh, my choice, right? (Honestly, they were in countries that are known for hacking, pic stealing, no real reason to follow a blog about a kid)...Takes all kinds, I suppose.

You have watched our little one grow...rocked out with our vids, left comments and suggestions for her growth...and been truly inspirational! I feel like I could reach out and hug each and every one of you.

You have empathised, sympathised, agreed and agreed to disagree...all the while enriching our blog with you presence, enlightening, silly and otherwise intelligent comments. Encouraged us to grow, to live and to enjoy life with a little one! Since the beginning!

Now, we have followers all over USA and the World: The Netherlands, Britain, Ireland, South Africa, Canada, Malaysia, and more...I have to thank DAD-BLOGS specifically. Without them, we would not have met super Dad's & Mom's like JOE SCHATZ, (whose book is featured on our blog - go buy it) and PETE JANELLE who co-founded Dad-Blogs.com. THE LEMONS who hold a very special place in our hearts, WEASELMOMMA who has such amazing insight, or SURPRISED MOM who dearly loves her family, TEACHER TOM who is the Peter Pan of Educators...DADDY FILES who tells it like it is, and encourages you to disagree (wink)...and PJ MULLEN, who drives a minivan, and is proud of it...to name only a few. Ah, so many more! We have exploded...

(OK, not as much as our friend Jason over at OUT-NUMBERED- but for little ole us...it works).

And now, two years later...a new blog design (take the poll to the right)...I could go on and on, about so many things, as many of you know, I like to talk....but, hopefully we can let the blog speak for itself...

Stay tuned for inevitable tweaks, skewers and do-overs, new posts, vids and pics, AND a little Bella Store!

New Years Day, 2010...we had such a great time. We'd discovered, only days before, a little amusement park...for small kids...in the middle of the city. Having lived here for 10+ years, it was remarkable that we hadn't ever noticed...really...N-E-V-E-R noticed. RIGHT in the heart of the city... we thought it was a lake - HA)

OK OK, so, giving us the benefit of the doubt...perhaps we should only be admonished for not having known about it since the birth of our little one...almost 4 years LOL

Any hoots...we found it....so, we decided New Years day would be a cool way to start 2010 on a silly, goofy high note...with our little one who LOVES thrill rides...as evidenced in our trip to Philadelphia.

Make sure and watch the very short video, for giggles galore...Bella had a AMAZING TIME feeding the ducks! (Actually, we all did - as a family! Something no one can deny us...or take away - sorry, political soapbox appeared briefly and is now...gone.) We had the forethought to actually bring along crumbs to feed...go figure. We didn't know of this place for so long, yet, somehow we knew there were gonna be ducks to feed? LMAO!

Happy Fatherhood Friday!

SPIN over to AMAZING Dad's & Mom's @ DAD-BLOGS.COM...putting their lives out there for you to peek in!

OK OK, warning ahead of time...this post has NADA to do with the holidays (except for the pic above). Past or present...just so's ya know. I have been meaning to write this post for over a month now, but something else always seemed to get here first...so, here goes:

Recently, Bella was playing in the family room with the television on in the background. Neither one of us was paying any particular attention to what was on. Bella was happily strolling around with her buggy, or playing with her coloring crayons...talking up a blue streak. Yes, I may have mentioned before, she loves to talk...no idea where she may have gotten that from (GRIN). I was (as usual) cleaning something in the kitchen. Maybe dishes...who knows...when all of a sudden...Bella was eerily quiet.

I looked up and she was standing in front of the television, all toys dropped, arms crossed, staring intently at the screen.

What was she focused on?

A VICTORIA'S SECRET Wonder Bra commercial.

You know the one(s), the very revealing kind!

No clue what the commercial was saying, other than to show a large breasted woman, modeling a large pink bra. (Did I mention she had HUGE boobies?)

She stared for awhile, totally silent...before running out of the room, clutching her chest, SCREAMING: